The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Weigela plant, botanically known as Weigela florida, and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name Elvera.
The new cultivar is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Boskoop, The Netherlands. The objective of the breeding program is to create new Weigela cultivars having dwarf plant habit and dark-colored leaves.
The new cultivar originated from a cross made by the Inventor in 1993, in Boskoop, The Netherlands, of the nonpatented cultivar Victoria as the female, or seed, parent with an unnamed proprietary Weigela selection, as the male, or pollen, parent.
The cultivar Elvera was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a single plant within the progeny of the stated cross in a controlled environment in Boskoop, The Netherlands. The selection of this plant was based on its dwarf growth habit and dark-colored leaves.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal cuttings taken at Boskoop, The Netherlands, has shown that the unique features of this new Weigela are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.